BARNEY the cat was millimetres away from being crippled for life after a sick thug shot him in his spine.

The two-and-a-half year old pedigree cat, who was found “shell-shocked” six weeks after disappearing from his Poole home, had a high-powered air weapon pellet lodged in one of his vertebrae.

Owner Sandra Taylor, who initially thought her prized British short hair silver spot, may have been stolen to order, contacted the Daily Echo in a bid to help police track Barney’s attacker.

“He’s at home now recovering well,” she said, “but there is always that worry in the back of your mind that someone out there could be laying in wait.

“Initially I thought it must have been a group of kids but then I started thinking it may be someone in the neighbourhood who just doesn’t like cats.

“It has been very distressing, I just couldn’t believe it had happened to my cat.”

Barney disappeared from his Branksome Park home at the end of April.

Mrs Taylor and her family posted notices up around the area, rang local vets and knocked on houses in a bid to locate him.

They were beginning to lose heart when a Westbourne woman called almost six weeks since he vanished.

“He was just sitting outside her flat. He had a collar so she contacted my husband. Apart from a slight limp he appeared to be in pretty good condition, but we decided to get him checked out at the vets.

“I couldn’t believe he’d been shot. You hear about this happening to other people’s cats, but it is still quite hard to take.

“I am hoping this story will encourage someone with information to contact the police of the RSPCA.”

Dorset Police have taken away the pellet as part of their ongoing investigation.